Thursday, November 10, 2011

Most producer’s can only dream about making a hit record. Let alone making mulitiple hit records and working with the elite in the music world. This is not a dream for Kannon “Caviar” Kross. It’s his life. Caviar, better known as Cavie, has been producing music since he was 12 years old. You may have heard of a group from California called N.W.A. Yes, the legendary N.W.A. Cavie has their name on his resume.

For most producer’s, just being able to have worked with a legendary group like N.W.A. is enough to have a career and that be your legacy. Cavie has continued to excel and advance his craft.

Currently, he is working on albums for artist’s such as Macy Gray and Cee Lo. “Cee Lo is an inspiration to me”, says Cavie. “He’s a perfectionist. It’s exciting to be working with him. Just the excitement of him picking the tracks”.

Operating out of Vault Studio’s in Hollywood, Cavie says the energy and the vibe make his studio stand out from other studios. So much so, that he is always there. “I’m always in the studio. I slept in the studio last night”, said Cavie. “All my loved one’s tell me I need to turn myself off sometimes.”

It is that drive a determination that has made Cavie a heavily sought after producer in the hip hop game. So sought after that recently several top tier rapper’s have called him personally to jump on tracks he produced such as “Electrolyte’s”. “Busta Rhyme’s called me for “Electrolyte’s” personally”, said Cavie. “Electrolyte’s” is a new track Cavie produced for Nore. During production, Cavie told Nore that he knew a female that would sound great on the record. Little did Nore know, that that female artist would be Macy Gray. The pairing and the song has received a huge response. Not just from Busta Rhyme’s, but also from legendary rapper DMX whom Cavie is working with on his comeback album.

“Working with DMX is like working with a Pac or a Biggie”, said Cavie. “He know’s what he wants. DMX was the first person to bless the mic in Vault Studios.” Currently, Cavie is the lead producer on DMX’s upcoming album. DMX has had his share of problems in the past, which have led some critic’s to prejudge all things DMX. “I want to prove everyone wrong about the X project”, said Cavie. “The man (DMX) is more focused than ever. This is a more seasoned version of DMX”.

When we talked about DMX, I also asked Cavie about any other artists that he would want to work with and I got a surprising response. “I want to work with Eminem”, said Cavie. “I want to make a DMX and Eminem record happen. I would like to see that happen. It hasn’t happened yet, but I would like to see that happen”, said Cavie. That was the surprising part. I’m sure hip hop fans everywhere would love to hear DMX and Eminem together on a new record. That would be a potential classic for hip hop and another check on the resume for Cavie.

If an Eminem and DMX collaboration doesn’t come together through Cavie, his resume is solid when it comes to hits and working with legends. However, he also has some new artists in his production reach along with several projects of his own. He has a mixtape series called “A Gangsta and a Gentleman”. Volume 1 of the series featuring DJ Minus is currently released. On November 18th, Cavie will release “A Gansta and a Gentleman Vol. 2” featuring DJ Burn One. He also plans on doing a third volume. Another mixtape he mentioned is with a new female artist he is working with. “I’m working with a female artist named Jamiss and her mixtape is called “Most Likely to Succeed”, said Cavie. “I think she could compete with Nicki Minaj.” In addition to Jamiss, Cavie will continue to release music through Kannon Entertainment with the rest of the Secret Specialists which include Big Oz and G Sparks.

The west coast has a storied past with legendary artists, producers, and movements in hip hop. Caviar is deeply embedded in its past and is continuing in its future. Caviar, the food, is a luxury. An item that emotes high class and status. From artists responses and requests to work with Cavie, the producer, I would say that definition holds true to him as well.